Barrel filler



April 20, 1943.

R. c. coRsoN 2,316,934

BARREL FILLER Filed Jan. 1'7, 1942 ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 20, 1943BARREL FILLER Richard C. Corson, Olean, N. Y., assignor to Socony-VacuumOil Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication January 17, 1942, Serial No. 427,137

2 Claims. (Cl. 226-127) This invention relates to an improvement inautomatic barrel fillers in order to adapt the same to the handling ofliquids tending to produce substantial quantities of heavy foam onagitation in the presence of air.

Many barrel fillers of the automatic type now on the market and ingeneral industrial use are capable of handling all relatively pureliquids and most liquid products rapidly and efficiently. Such llersnormally comprise a filling pipe to be inserted in the bung hole of thebarrel and a valve which is spring biased to closed position and liesbetween the point of attachment of a hose or pipe from a source ofsupply and the top of the filling pipe. The valve is held open by acrank on connecting rod restrained to open position of the valve by apin in a notch at the end of a lever fulcrumed between said notch and afloat actuated by liquid level in the barrel. The float is placed in acompartment of the lling pipe isolated from the inlowing liquid streambut open to the interior of the barrel and Vented at its upper end. Thefloat compartment is generally continued to the terminus of the fillingpipe and constructed by placing a compartment in that pipe, althoughsome types of fillers are known wherein the float compartmentconstitutes an extension of the filling pipe isolated from flowing iiuidby a generally transverse wall with uid outlet above the wall.

While these previously known fillers are efcient in filling barrels withpure liquids and liquid products which may froth but do not form astable heavy foam, they are of relatively little value in handling suchproducts as emulsions of petroleum waxes in aqueous media and the like.As such emulsions are supplied to the barrel with known automatic barreli'lllers, a heavy foam develops, probably as a result of agitation ofthe fluid with air in the lower part of the barrel. This vfoam isrelatively stable and remains on the upper surface of the filled liquidas the filling operation progresses, entering the float chamber beforethe liquid product. The foam is frequently heavy enough to operate theioat controlled automatic valve, thus closing the valve while the barrelis far from filled to the desired level. It then becomes necessary forthe operator to hold the'valve open manually until the fluid productlevel appears on the bung hole, thus forcing out the heavy foam withconsequent wasting of product and fouling of the barrel eX- terior.

Following such experiences, commercial automatic filling of barrels withthe type of liquid product under consideration has been discontinued andmanual operated filling valves substituted, requiring constant attentionof an operator for each barrel lled.

I have now found that automatic iilling operations are possible, evenwith products forming very heavy stubborn foams by use of an improvedbarrel filler as described herein. This highly desirable result seems tobe attributable to certain characteristic features of my device. Thefloat chamber is fully open at both top and bottom, permitting rapidflow therethrough of any foams formed without tendency to move the floatby reason of viscosity of the foam. The iioat chamber is disposed in arecessed portion of the filling pipe wall whereby the tendency of foamsto enter therein is greatly reduced. The oat chamber is completelyseparate from the filling pipe and from any flow of fluid therefrom.Related to this last aspect but additional thereto is the capability ofthe device to permit additions of pipe to the lower end of the dllingpipe, thus greatly reducing agitation of the liquid product with air,but avoiding enclosing. the bottom end of the float chamber in thefilling pipe thus extended.

These, as Well as other objects and advantages, will be clear from thediscussion below of a specic embodiment of the invention shown in theannexed drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a device according to myinvention; and

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 2--2 thereof.

In common with known automatic barrel filling devices, the ller of thepresent invention includes a lling pipe IB, a fluid inlet l I and avalve chamber indicated at l2. The valve is constructed in conventionalmanner with a valve member I3 biased to closed position against the seatI4 by a spring l5, the valve being guided by a stem `H5 extending into abore in cap I'I and by guides IB in slots in the member I3. A rod. I9opens the valve against the action of spring i5 when activated by acrank at the end of shaft 20. Said shaft 26 passes through a pipe 2lthreaded into the device and bearing a packing gland 22 about the shaft25 at its outer end. A handle 23 is keyed to the outer end of shaft 20and carries a pin 24 which engages a notch in the upper side of a lever25. The handle 23 is so arranged with respect to general assembly thatvalve I2 will be held open when the pin 24 is engaged in the `notch inlever 25.

The lever 25 is fulcrumed by pivotal attachment to a. bracket 26 at apoint on said lever near the notch therein. A much longer arm of thelever carries atthe end thereof a float 21 in a iloat chamber 28.

The design and arrangement of the iloat chamber 28 together with thethreadedlower end or illling pipe Lim-part to the device its ability toact as an automatic barrel illler in connection with liquids havingpronounced tendencies to form stable heavy foams. As shown in thedrawing. oat chamber 2l is, in eilect, simply a section oi pipe open atboth ends set in a recessed portion of the wall of lling pipe i0substantially above the bottom end of the pipe III. 'I'here is,therefore, free ilow of fluids through the iloat chamber but thatchamber is protected against influence from the flow of fluids from theiilling pipe and the relationship of the pipe and chamber is such thatthe chamber will be substantially unaffected by foams from liquids notcompletely filling the barrel to the bottom end of the iloat chamber. Asshown at 29, the chamber 28 may be tack-welded in the recessed portionof illling pipe i0.

Further, the provision of a threaded lower end of the iilling pipe i0well below the lowest open.. ing to oat chamber 28 makes it possible tocouple thereto additional sections of pipe to avoid foaming by reductionof agitation in air, without, however, affecting in any wise theoperation of the iloat and oat chamber.

I claim:

l. In a device ofthe class described having a illling pipe, a valvechamber communicating with said illling pipe, means -to admit uid tosaid chamber, a valve controlling communication between said pipe andsaid chamber, spring biasing means acting on said valve to closecommunication between said chamber and said pipe, valve operating meansto move said valve to open position, holding Vmeans to maintain saidvalve operating means to open'valve position. a float and means actuatedby said float to release said hold ing means: the improvement whichcomprises a tllling pipe of generally circular `cross-section having aportion of the wall thereof near the upper end thereof bent inwardly toform a recess to receive a iioat chamber, a iloat chamber of uniform andsubstantially circular cross section in said recess parallel to saidpipe, said chamber being open at both ends, said recess and said iloatchamber being of such dimensions that the chamber is predominantlywithin the general cross section of said pipe, said recess being gentlysloped at each end of said chamber toward the walls of the pipe beyondthe ends oi the chamber. said oat being `disposed in said iloat chamberand means at the lower end of said illiing pipe to connect the same toadditional lengths of pipe.

2. In a device oi the class described having a filling pipe, a valvechamber communicating with said illling pipe, means to admit iluid tosaid chamber, a normally closed valve controlling communication .betweensaid pipe and said chamber, holding means to maintain said valve in openposition, a float, and means actuated thereby to release said holdingmeans: the improvement which comprises, a illling pipe or generallyuniform cross section having a portion of the wall thereof near theupper end thereof bent inwardly to form a recess to receive afloatchamber, and a float chamber of uniform cross section in said recess andextending parallel to said pipe, said float chamber being open at bothends, said recess and said float chamber being oi' lsuch dimensions thatthe chamber is predominantly within the general cross section of thepipe, said recess :being gently sloped at each end of said chambertoward -the walls of the pipe beyond the ends of the chamber, said oatbeing disposed in said iioat chamber.

RICHARD C. CORSON.

